Chapter 61
Neither friend knew how long it took for them to wake up, since there were no windows that looked outside the building as if it were built as a fortress and not so much to be a luxury hotel and casino. When they did wake up there weren’t many words shared between the two as Twilight got up and Anne just sat on the corner of the bed since she wasn’t able to stand up. It took a while for them to come up with an idea, even though it was very simple, just using a wooden crutch that was able to support her weight, which took a few tries to find. But it also meant she wasn’t really able to use a gun if she wanted to be upright, just a pistol on her hip which Twilight was hesitant to allow but knew she would need a way to defend herself if anything came after the crippled woman.
“I’ll find a place to hide in the main lobby, just give a call and I’ll come out.” Anne said once the two slowly made their way towards said lobby, Anne not used to moving with only one leg and a crutch.
Twilight nodded as they walked. “I found Dean but I need to find God and the other lady.”
Approaching the kitchen where she was lead towards she could hear the familiar voices of God and Dog arguing with each other, themselves…
“The FEV reject has locked himself in the kitchen, try to find a way into the kitchen and deal with him.” The old man stated before once again going silent.
With a sigh Twilight started looking for another way to get into the kitchen and after ten minutes she found a key with a tag that read ‘Maintenance’ and after a prolonged crawl through the bowels of the building she entered the pantry for the kitchen and the first thing that became very apparent was the overwhelming stench of Methane gas, making her feel dizzy.
“You need to shut off the gas before that idiot kills us all. If he causes a spark or hi collar goes off the Madre will go up in flames. Killing the both of us.”
Twilight heard more yelling between the two personalities come from behind the door and after quickly plugging up a pipe that was spraying out gas with some cloth which while wouldn’t stop the flow it would at least slow it down a bit in this crack in the pipe.
Entering the kitchen proper she saw Dog, or God, holding a grenade in his massive hand and was getting ready to pull the pin.
“WAIT!” Twilight called out as she quickly ran over, the air seeming to warp from the high levels of flammable gas. “Don’t do it!”
His head turned to look at Twilight. “You...? Master... no, not Master. Dog remembers you. Left Dog in cage, mean to Dog... now, Dog...” He said before his voice changed to the calmer one. “Hrnnn... will kill us both unless you do something. Never felt him so strong before, he won't listen to my voice. He's... he's...” He said before shaking his head in pain and Dog coming back.
“Hungry. Come here, or Dog will chase you, break you until you no run anymore.” He growled as he slowly approached the pony.
Doing the first thing she could think of she yelled. “Dog stay!” She yelled. “Or master will get mad!” She continued as she stepped back fearfully.
The mutant paused, his face turning into one of fear of upsetting his master. “Hnnh? Master? Don't want Master to be mad... what does Master want Dog to…”
“Hrnnn... listen to you... can't hold him back much longer... tell him... to pull on his chain, as hard as...”
Twilight looked at him in confusion at what that would do but with it being tied around his neck so tightly already it would end up choking him or snapping his neck if he was strong enough.
“...Dog can. What Master wants, Dog can do. Please don't be mad with Dog...” He whimpered pitifully.
“Dog, the ‘master’ sent me. He wants you to listen to my voice now.” Twilight stated.
“Dog… is listening.”
“...Both of us are. Tell him to listen to me. Then we can get out of this... finally... and...”
“Listening to your voice, only your voice.”
Twilight got an idea, and just hoped to Celestia that it would work out for the best.
“Imagine the voice, not as a voice... but as water. Look at the voice now, what do you see?” She asked.
The mutant closed his eyes “Dog can see the voice.” He said before frowning. “Looks just like Dog...”
“...And Dog looks just like me. You've hurt yourself. Inside. Do you see now, see…”
“...In the water. Dog understands now. Dog knows what happened.”
“You see the water? Now, step into it.” she said calmly.
“If Dog... if Dog goes into the water... Dog can't help if Master gets mad. You were nice to Dog, Dog wants to help.”
“He's right. If you merge us, then... I... we... or whatever we become... we can't help you when you reach whatever's at the Sierra Madre's end.”
“And Dog... Dog doesn't want to unremember you, may forget you.”
“We will forget almost all that has happened here. You'll be alone, at the Old Man's mercy. Like Dog. Like me.”
“No one should have control over another, even me.” She stated with a saddened look.
He took a step back, the unused grenade clattering to the floor as he looked off into the distance.
“You were there all the time…”
“…All the time, you were there, and so close.”
“Together.” He said, his voice now a new one, one that seemed like it would come from a normal person and not the eight foot mutant before her.
“Dog?”
The mutant looked down at Twilight, first in surprise then in confusion. “Who... who are you? What is this place?”
Twilight knew it worked, smiling softly to herself. ‘I guess those psychological books were worth paying all those bits for...’
“It would take too long to explain.” Twilight said calmly.
“I feel as if I've woken up. I don't know you, yet I feel like I do, and a feeling of... gratitude. I...” He stated before wincing in pain. “Forgive me, I... I'm wounded. This chain... this bear trap on my arm... how did I even get this far with these wounds? The pain is excruciating, I... I need to rest for a moment.” He said before slowly making his way over to the wall and sitting down, cradling his head in his large hands.
The suites weren’t in the best condition and the long elevator ride up scared her with how often it made groaning sounds and pausing every now and again but once she was up she would have kissed the ground if it weren’t stained with hundreds of years of dust and grime, along with plaster from the roof in small piles.
The intercom crackled on and instead of the old man a familiar voice spoke. “If it's who I think it is, this is Christine... recovered.” It said, sounding almost like a ghoul it was so rough but was definitely familiar. “In what looks like an Old World hotel room, high class, two rooms, exit's sealed. Floor's got holographic security. Not latest tech, field of view targeting systems, primitive. Familiar.”
Twilight slowly made her way through the maze of rooms, with some walls missing or made from collapsing parts of the old building.
She soon heard the voice that was over the intercom calling from one of the rooms behind the door. “Sinclair?! Sinclair, I'm trapped. Please, oh god, the security systems won't let me out, they're keeping me here.”
“My name’s Twilight.” The pony said as she went to do the door. “Don’t know where you got Sinclair from.” She stated as she used her magic to push in the door.
On the other side wasn’t a person but instead the hologram of the woman in the dress that she saw in the lobby when first arriving in the Madre. But this time instead of walking away and vanishing she slowly turned towards Twilight.
“The doors, they... they sealed. I... I can hear the other guests, screaming to be let out, to let go.” It said before it turned orange as it noticed Twilight and red as it brought its hands to the sides of its head.
She knew what that meant and quickly ducked behind the doorframe just as the beams of death scorched the old wood.
“I'm going to die here, amongst the ghosts. I... I'm still being recorded by the holographic system.” It cried.
A quick glance into the room showed her that there was a missing wall that led to the next apartment. Charging her horn brightly she went with a flash and reappeared next room over, glancing over her shoulder to see the hologram still shooting at the door she once was at.
She crept through the rooms and hallways, see many more of the same hologram, each begging for help to leave but none of them being able to.
She reached a double door, more grand than any other and with intricate gold inlay carved into the wood. Intrigued she entered and was greeted with the grandest room she had seen in the building, the windows blackened out with the thick red smoke. There was small bar top at one side of the room with enough drinks to make Anne happy for a long while. One door to the left opened slowly and Twilight took aim quickly at it with her revolver.
Instead of a ghost or a hologram it was the mute.
“You made it, good...” The not-so-mute said before letting out a dry and pained cough. She had the vest of the hologram security guards along with the uniform under it.. “Hurts to talk. I'll keep this quick in case my... voice goes out.”
It was then that Twilight recognized the voice. “Wait, you sound like the woman from the broadcast that brought Anne and I here…” She said in confusion.
“Do I? It sounds off to my ears... hard to tell. Not to mention it... hurts like hell to swallow. Might be why I got moved off to this suite... it's hers. That's her over there, got trapped by security like I did. Just took a different way out.”
“It’s good to hear that you got your voice back.” Twilight said. “Now that you can talk, is there anything I should know?”
“I’ve been hunting the man who brought you here, Elijah, for some time.” She stated. “He cannot leave the Sierra Madre alive. What he's done... what he's done here is nothing compared to what he's done in the past. The only way to bring him out is if you get to the vault... he won't allow you to go down there alone. That's when we kill him.”
Twilight lets out a tired sigh. “I know he has to be dealt with, but I’ll do it alone, I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”
“Wasn't sure until now I could trust you. Now I know.” Christine said with a sigh. “Look, when I woke up here... however that happened... I had this key on me.” She said reaching into a pocket and pulling out an old rusty key. “I think it belongs to her. Haven't had a chance to use it yet, might open the dresser, or the safe, didn't have time to experiment with it before you arrived. Here you go.”
There wasn’t much more of note that was said between the two and that left Twilight exploring around the hotel room until she entered the bedroom where she was immediately greeted by the words ‘LET GO’ scrawled along the wall above the headboard. Next to the bed was a skeleton in a chair, the black velvet dress still covering its slim frame. Needles of painkillers were all around the floor of the body.
“Who was this?” Twilight asked to herself.
“That, is Vera Keyes.” Christine said leaning against the doorframe for the bedroom with her arms crossed over her chest.
“That woman who’s on the radio? And the hologram around this floor?”
“The same.”
“Well… worse ways to go I guess…”
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I'm hping Twilight takes that supermutant with her and Anne he needs a palce where eh can rest and recover, and good food and clean water maybe the big empty? Should be some place for him to rest....i always lked him and felt so sad for him.
8237970
No he'd be better off in Jacobstown. There he can get medical care from someone not bigoted and be a further voice of reason for the nightkin, especially since this new mind is likely free of the stealth boy dependence.
8238350
That is true.